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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26781856">A Dance for Two</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox'>TheAzureFox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Library of Ruina (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angela is lowkey obviously infatuated with Roland but he's kind of dense, F/M, because that's probably when Angela and Roland are closest while still in the Library, im still stuck on my Angeland longfic so here's a one-shot, like not shounen protagonist dense but deep in-denial dense lmao, this assumes the game is at the last chapter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:14:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26781856</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There are a lot of things Roland expects from Angela.</p><p>Teaching her to dance is <em>not</em> one of them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Angela (Lobotomy Corporation)/Roland (Library of Ruina)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Dance for Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm still working on my Angeland longfic (it's at 23,000 words and I'm still not halfway done with it lmao) but after seeing so much artwork surrounding Roland and Angela dancing I wanted to try my hand at writing them...well, dancing. Or learning to, anyways, because I'm pretty sure Roland doesn't really know how to dance and Angela's only ever learned about it from books and maybe during her time watching employees/Abnormalities in Lobotomy Corporation.</p><p>Also idk if dancing is a thing in the City but I'm pretty sure nightclubs at the very least would be and maybe even parties so there's that lmao</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There are a lot of things Roland expects of Angela. For one, she’s really prickly, easily annoyed at the slightest inconvenience and exasperated by even the most teasing of jokes. For another, she’s really persistent about what she wants, using any means to entice an answer to her curiosity. For a third, she’s very, <em> very </em> unpredictable when it comes to what she wants to request from Roland.</p><p>Such as now. Right now. Where she’s standing in front of him, the poor soul who is blinking sleep from his eyes on a leather couch, and offering her hand as she asks:</p><p>“Roland, will you teach me how to dance?”</p><p>Her words are innocent, perhaps even nonchalant, and Roland can’t help but squint at the woman who is half his employer (and half something else) in disbelief. </p><p>“I think I must still be asleep,” he says. And means it. Because of all the things he ever thought Angela would ask of him, learning about <em>dancing</em> is not one of them. </p><p>Angela scowls at him as he goes back to rest on the couch he’s sitting on, draping himself across it to prepare himself for another round of sleep. However, as he does so, he’s all too acutely aware of the way Angela sits on the couch, perched on the arm of it as her golden eyes stare down at him.</p><p>“I’m not joking,” she tells him. “I want to learn how to dance.”</p><p>He closes his eyes to avoid her piercing gaze. “Okay. Why?”</p><p>“It’s a way to get closer to someone, isn’t it?”</p><p>Here, he opens his eyes. “I mean, yeah, you can put it that way,” he says, warily, feeling an unexpected increase in heart rate as he struggles to look upwards. “Dancing is usually a way to have fun with someone, sometimes even yourself. It passes the time too in the City. At least during the night.”</p><p>“I feel like you’re avoiding the question,” Angela speaks to him dryly. However, as his gaze meets hers, he finds that her expression is quite soft, almost fond as she continues. “I’d like to get closer to you.”</p><p>His heart rate spikes again. He takes in a deep breath to cool the sudden heat that flushes through him, raising his eyebrows at his companion. “Through dancing?” He asks her. “Ha...Angela, do you know what you’re asking?”</p><p>“...For a dance, of course?”</p><p>He sits up, rubbing the back of his neck as he cranes his head to look at her. “You do realize there’s a lot of meaning behind humans asking each other to dance, right?”</p><p>Angela tilts her head, slipping down from the arm of the couch to take up the now-unoccupied space beside him. Roland watches her with wariness, all too aware of the coy look in her eyes as she purposely leans against him. The warmth from her skin is intoxicating, strangely so, and Roland can’t help but wonder how calculated her movements are as her golden eyes glint with a persistence he easily recognizes.</p><p>“Of course,” she says, the two words merely a whisper and yet somehow deafening in his ears. “It’s a way for friends to show their bonds towards each other, isn’t it?”</p><p>...And now Roland suddenly wonders if he’s underestimated how naïve his companion truly is.</p><p>“Well,” he says, feeling his heartrate calm and, with it, a mysterious spike of disappointment following, “it’s more like a way to get someone you’re interested in interested in you. Dancing is an intimate activity. Most of the time, unless you go to nightclubs, you’re not likely to be dancing with strangers in the City.”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“Because it’s weird to get intimate with strangers,” he says. “Or, at least, I’ve always been weirded out by the idea of it.”</p><p>“So have you ever danced before?”</p><p>“A couple of times with my late wife at Fixer parties.” He rubs the back of his neck. “But I’m no good at it, honestly. I wouldn’t be able to teach you anything worth anything.”</p><p>“But you’d be willing to dance with me?” She pauses, ruminating. “If you don’t consider me to be a stranger, of course.”</p><p>“Ha, you’re definitely not a stranger to me anymore,” he says. Then, he stretches himself and comes to a stand off the couch. “I guess if you’re so insistent, however, I’ve got to give it a shot. Maybe you’ll even laugh at how bad I am.”</p><p>“You forget that I’ve never had the pleasure of dancing before,” she says to him, standing to her feet and offering her hand with a sparkle to her eyes. “We’re probably on the same page here.”</p><p>“Sure, sure,” he takes her hand, bringing her to a more open space. She follows without question, her fingers squeezing against his. Once they reach an area of the Keter floor with large enough space, he turns around to look at her. “Now, I don’t know what kind of dancing you’ve been learning about, but I only know the basics, okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine with whatever, Roland,” she tells him gently. “I just want to learn as much as I can from you.”</p><p>“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather asking the Sephirot instead?” He asks. “Don’t you think they’d probably be better examples to learn from? Surely one of them would be more knowledgeable about this than I am.”</p><p>The woman in front of him clicks her tongue. “If I wanted to learn from them I would’ve asked them.”</p><p>“Alright, alright, you can stop being prickly now.” </p><p>Roland releases her hand and moves his own to her waist, carefully pressing down on the space of her hip. He’s never quite sure how to get close to her or how to touch her when she always stands at a distance - and his movements now are soft and considerate, leading her into the gestures in anticipation of stopping the moment she shows unease. Angela makes no sign of rejecting his movements, merely watching him with patience and complying with his touches. She moves her body closer to him when he tugs at her backside and accepts her fingers around the hand he’s offered to her.</p><p>“This is going to be a bit hard to do without music,” he says, “but try to follow my lead.”</p><p>He takes a step to the right, urging Angela to follow him, and she obliges. He takes another step and she follows. He then moves forward and she seems to be confused, almost even dazed for a split second, before she takes a step back in realization. </p><p>He moves in this fashion, teaching her to follow his movements as they move in an awkward circle, her following his movements perfectly while he struggles to keep the flow of the dance going. </p><p>“You’re pretty good,” he remarks to her.</p><p>“I learn fast,” she says, smug. </p><p>“That you do,” he offers a smile as he tugs her in time to an invisible beat. </p><p>She seems to notice him doing this, for she offers: “If you want, I can conjure some music for us.”</p><p>“Have you ever listened to music before?”</p><p>“Only an orchestra,” she says. “How about it?”</p><p>“Sure. Couldn’t hurt to give it a try.”</p><p>She nods, closing her eyes for a moment as she moves in time to his movements. </p><p>From around them, a soft chord of music arises, the golden pages that float about the Library twisting into musical notes. A melody of something unfamiliar enters Roland’s ears, beautiful and enchanting yet somehow devoid of humanity entirely. It’s an eerie music, perhaps even haunting, but Roland quickly finds its strange song is nothing in comparison to the way Angela stares at him, her golden eyes sparkling as musical notes float all around her. </p><p>“How’s this?” She asks him.</p><p>“It’s a bit strange,” he tells her, honest. When her gaze flashes in disappointment, however, he rushes to reassure her. “It’s just something I’ve never heard before. It’s kind of weird, you know? But not in a bad way.”</p><p>“This music is from an Abnormality,” she tells him. “I’ve spent so many of my years listening to its music that perhaps I’ve forgotten that humans hear it differently.”</p><p>“It’s good as it is,” he says to her faltering expression. He tugs her closer to him, just a little, and the worry on her face seems to slip away. “Tell me, do you want to pick it up a notch?”</p><p>She flashes him a look that suggests she's grateful for his kindness. “Sure.”</p><p>He nods, bringing her close until their bodies touch. Angela seems to inhale sharply at this and he immediately makes a move to back away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, when she presses insistently against him. He tries not to wince at the sudden flash of heat that goes through his system, instead focusing on moving with her in his arms.</p><p>Angela follows him, quickly adjusting to whatever change he makes without complaint. Her steps always move with his, anticipating his movements with such accuracy that she’s even managed to avoid getting her toes stepped on by his clumsy feet. </p><p>What probably surprises him more, however, is the way she comfortably presses against him as they move. Having known her to be one for space and distance, he’s surprised to see her moving so easily with the flow of his body against hers, even seeming to relish in the distance closed between them. </p><p>It’s a bit unexpected. And honestly a little bit too much. Roland feels like his heart is irrationally fast right now, his ears burning as Angela’s gaze stays attached to his. Her stare is uncomfortable, but not in the way he expects. Usually, he’s always under the idea that her eyes lingering too long upon him means he’s about to get scowled at for something he’s annoyed her for, but in this case it feels as if she’s purely watching <em> him. </em> Every movement he makes, every breath that he takes, every way that his head turns and his eyes blink, it all feels like she’s drinking in every aspect of him, observing him down to the wrinkles beneath his eyes as they dance.</p><p>“This is nice,” Angela tells him after a bit, her voice the softest he’s ever heard it. </p><p>He doesn’t know what exactly to say to that, so he murmurs an affirmative “mm-hmm” and keeps moving along.</p><p>“Roland?”</p><p>The man peers at her. “Yes?”</p><p>“Thanks for teaching me this.”</p><p>“My pleasure, Angela,” he says, grinning his sloppy grin at her. “But be honest with me, I’m a pretty bad dancer, aren’t I?”</p><p>“Not at all."</p><p>They move for a little while longer, the musical notes of gold dancing around them, before Roland realizes he’s reached his limit and has to pause. Angela seems to sense his lack of stamina for she backs away seconds before he decides to do so, letting her arms rest at her side as she looks him over.</p><p>“You’re pretty tired,” she notes.</p><p>He scowls at her, rubbing his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “Is that a compliment?”</p><p>“An observation,” she corrects. </p><p>Then, Angela steps closer, gaze lingering on him as she does so. He watches her, all too aware of the way she looks immaculately restless - not at all drained like himself, drenched in sweat from a dance that has gone on too long for his body to handle - and finds himself surprised when one of Angela’s hands slip towards his tie.</p><p>“In the books I read,” she says to him, her voice no more than a whisper as her fingers climb silk. Roland’s all too aware of the way her other hand drifts to his shoulder, watching in a stupor as she continues her speech. “After the end of a dance, a certain reward is offered by one half of a pair to the other.”</p><p>“Mm-hmm?” He asks, not quite sure where she’s going but too distracted by the warmth of her hands on his clothing to care.</p><p>“Well, I think I should give you a reward.”</p><p>Angela’s hands snatch at the knot at the tip of his tie, holding it firmly as she drags him forward. His eyes widen, confusion taking hold of him, before he feels something soft against his own lips.</p><p>He feels Angela kissing him, feels her pressing against him in every way she can as she does so, coy in her movements to the point he can feel the smugness in her lips. He reciprocates in kind, unwilling to be outdone by her trickery, and kisses back, biting at her lower lip as playful punishment.</p><p>Angela pulls away and he immediately makes a move to apologize, thinking that he’s probably upset her somehow, when he realizes she’s smiling with an arrogance that is typical of her.</p><p>“I told you I wanted to get closer to you,” she says.</p><p>“So you didn’t just want to dance as friends?” He asks her, unable to keep the teasing in his voice from leaking out.</p><p>She scowls. “I wasn’t sure how you were going to react if I said otherwise.”</p><p>“Coward.”</p><p>“I can’t be a coward if I make the first move.”</p><p>He rolls his eyes at that, unable to refute her. She laughs, knowing she’s won, and Roland can’t help the way he laughs with her, mirthful in the realization that has just taken place in the span of minutes.</p><p>“<em>Get a room you two! </em>”</p><p>There’s a raucous cheer from around them and Roland realizes in embarrassment that they have an audience. The Sephirot - all bundled together like one huge package of adoring fans - whistle in their direction, with even the likes of Yesod and Binah joining in. Their faces are gleeful, as if they have just watched the climax of something they’ve waited ages for to occur, and Roland can only feel himself sinking inwards as his face bursts with red.</p><p>Angela, on the other hand, seems to scowl at their intrusion. She glares daggers at them, sending most of the group gulping, and after a few thinly-veiled threats are sent their way, the Sephirot scatter. Angela watches them go, whisking them all away regardless with her powers, and when she returns her gaze to Roland she’s wearing her typical look of annoyance.</p><p>“They ruined such a good moment, too,” she tells him.</p><p>“I get the feeling they’ve been waiting for something like this to happen for a while,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “How long have they known…?”</p><p>“Known what?”</p><p>“That we apparently like each other.”</p><p>“Who cares?” She says, grabbing at his free hand and taking it into hers. “Want to continue dancing?” she asks him.</p><p>He squeezes her hand, smiling fondly.</p><p>“Sure.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not going to lie it feels really, really weird to write these two being overly romantic and I s2g this is my best attempt so far at managing to mash them together without making them feel out of character. Of course, I've ignored a lot of things that are current obstacles to them having a decent romantic relationship in the story narrative (<em>*coughs at Roland*</em>) but those are things I'd rather just address in my longfic then in a cute fluffy fic like this lol</p></blockquote></div></div>
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